Shooting Star
by GlassSuicune
Summary: Humans... Newmans... CASTs... It would appear the three races form more than the sum of their parts together... Retelling of PSZero.


Shooting Star by GlassSuicune

Note: Phantasy Star belongs to SEGA. Elpizo, Cassandra, Quirky, and Leviathan belong to me. Anyways, this is a retelling of Phantasy Star Zero, and I'm going to be insane and attempt to jam all three stories from the game into this. Wish me luck, for I have a lot of data to scramble, reassemble, and hopefully make coherent when this is through, and I fear _I_ may end up being scrambled, reassembled, and made incoherent. And yes, rather than basically copying/pasting the prologue from the game, I wrote my own. It's more fun and interesting this way. And another thing...expect things to be different, either by a little or by a lot, from the game itself. But I think it should be obvious that this won't be one-hundred-percent-accurate. Why? Remember, you're reading a story written by Glass the Insane Authoress. That should be reason enough. Oh yes...and OOC-ness may occur, no matter how hard I try to keep it from doing so.

Chapter 1: Waking Up.

_Long ago, three tribes lived in harmony and prosperity,_

_Together, at the height of their civilization, they gave birth to divinity,_

_Then, there was destruction and war, as the false god and mortals clashed,_

_For it is in the nature of men to create idols, and it is in the nature of the idols to spell their doom,_

_When it all was over, nothing but dreadful desolation covered most of the planet,_

_Remnants of what once was, what would've been, and what would never be,_

_But yet, even amongst the suffocating darkness, there was light,_

_The people who had survived the war rose up and began to rebuild their home,_

_Swearing that they would never make the same mistakes again,_

_Promising themselves they would never forget the horror they had endured,_

_But as two centuries went by, the memories faded, becoming lost completely over time,_

_And now, shadows blanketed the moon even within the brightest sky,_

_As the forgotten ones made their return to the surface of the planet._

"Just breathe in and out..." the blonde-haired Newman told herself, "All you have to do is keep up this facade a little longer, then when you reach Earth, you can get away with whatever passes for murder in our tyrannical dictator's eyes... Just find a CAST who's willing to come back with you, and no one will _ever_ know... Oh, who am I kidding? I'll leave plenty of marks while I'm down there. And all in the wrong places, too. Perhaps I should leave some marks on this security force while I'm at it... Yeah... That sounds perfectly reasonable."

Elpizo decided it would be in her best interest not to think aloud as she had been doing, and instead moved the bottom of her dark pink coat up against her back so she wasn't sitting on it anymore. The coat itself had a rather robe-like quality to it, and the silver cuffs at the end of the sleeves somehow added to the royal appearance. The contrast between it and her light pink shirt and pants was certainly striking, yet the two managed to look nice together, rather than making war with each other. Her boots also happened to be dark pink, making one wonder if she ever wore any colour other than pink.

"Hm?" Elpizo muttered as her purple Mag randomly nudged her, shivering slightly. She turned to face it and examined it carefully. "Look, you're not scared, okay?" she explained quite calmly to it, "You're brave. You're the bravest Mag _ever_ to grace the moon and the planet. Got it?"

It only responded by shivering even more.

"Here, eat this Monofluid."

The Mag stopped shivering and promptly devoured the medicine, container and all. Afterwards, it rested on Elpizo's shoulder, apparently content with the sudden turn of events. "...Sometimes you disturb me with that appetite of yours..." Elpizo sighed, her emerald green eyes showing great annoyance. If Mags could lick their lips, the little robot would've done so.

"Heeeyyyyyy!" the voice dragged on and on to where one might think the person was whining, even when they weren't. The Mag appeared to cock its head inquisitively, whereas Elpizo turned her head to face the red-haired girl in a white, robe-like outfit, who was running up to her. "Oh, hi Sarisa," she said bluntly, examining the rather awkward outfit, "Still dressing in a similar fashion to a clown, I see..."

"E-Elpizo, when will you stop that? It's _not_ a clown's outfit! Where did you ever get that idea?"

"When I saw how large and awkward-looking it was. But whatever. Who am I to comment on other people's fashion senses? I have none myself, so touche."

Sarisa then let out a sigh, instead to choosing to gaze forward out the window, her red eyes on the earth. "I wonder what it's like down there..." she thought aloud, "I mean, I've read about it in books, but... I don't know. It just feels so exciting to actually be able to see it for myself..." Elpizo nodded, then chose to lay down on the metal bench, flat on her back. "Mmm-hmm..." she agreed, staring at the ceiling as if it was the most interesting on the moon's surface.

"Elpizo... What are you doing?"

"I'm staring at this completely fascinating ceiling because I don't think I'll ever see it again, and there might not be very interesting ceilings on Earth."

"...In other words, you're bored?"

"You know it."

"...Elpizo?"

"Yeah?"

"Don't ever change..."

"Trust me. I won't. Change is boring."

And with that, the two friends walked out of the area, presumably to prepare for their mission on the planet's surface.

_Down on the surface..._

"Gwah..." a metallic, slightly boyish voice groaned, "Did anyone get the license plate of that vehicle that hit me? Or was it a Dragon that ran me over? Ohh... My head... My back... My _everything_..." The groans of pain and discomfort continued as the male CAST slowly rose from the snow, his jade green eyes staying open long enough for him to soak his surroundings, which turned out to be a very snowy forest, with no signs of civilization in sight.

"...Where the pineapple am I?" he managed, "How did I get here? Argh... I don't remember... I don't even remember my name..." He sighed in frustration, brushing the snow off of his black armour and dark gray bodysuit. His armour was unusually tight-fitting and sleek, lacking the extra bulk of most male CAST armour. It didn't look capable of protecting him from very powerful attacks, but seemed light and flexible enough for him to move freely. In all honesty, the thing it succeeded most at was emphasizing how child-like he looked. Clearly, whoever built him didn't intend for him to go and fight like a madman. Come to think of it, his helmet was odd-looking, too. It concealed the top half of his face like a mask, and had horn-like protrusions where his 'ears' would be.

The CAST noticed what looked like metal buried in the snow, and bent down to dig it up out of curiosity. The object turned out to be a Double Saber, and it seemed to be working just fine and dandy when he turned it on. He gave a few light swings with it, and a sense of familiarity surged throughout his mechanical body as it cut through the air. After those few swings, he turned it off and put it away in his...bag... I have no idea how he pulled that off, but I'm assuming it's some kind of never-ending bag or something. Either that, or the weapon itself shrunk to fit in there.

"I probably should look for a town or something..." he said to himself, "For all I know, the Abominable Snowman will eat me if I stay out here much longer..." With that, he began to walk away from the area in hopes of finding a way to civilization. His journey was cut-short when he tripped on hard metal and fell face-first into the snow, shrieking as he did so. He got up to examine what he tripped on, and could vaguely make out an icy blue-armoured hand gripping a Rifle. He couldn't make out anything else, as the person was completely covered in snow. He did the android equivalent of swallowing hard and began to brush the snow off of them, revealing a female CAST in icy blue armour and a white bodysuit that also emphasized how child-like she looked. Her head was leaning off to the left, allowing an icy blue flap that resembled a ponytail to be seen.

_'...Sister...?'_

Slight recognition filled his mind, and he frantically shook the female's immobile body. "Hello?" he shouted, "Are you there? Wake up!" After a few seconds, her silver eyes opened and she gave a quick shake of her head as her vision cleared, then her eyes rested on the male in front of her, and a very, _very_ happy expression became plastered on her face once some kind of recognition clicked within her processors.

"QUIRRRKKKYYY!"

"OH SWEET PINEAPPLES!"

The male let out a blood-curdling scream as the female tackled him in a ferocious hug. He struggled to break free from the hug, but she would have none of it, hugging him even tighter. "I...can't...feel...my..._everything_!" he cried out in distress, as she had effectively cut off a decent amount of his energy supply. "Oops..." she said shyly, letting him go, "S-sorry..." She suddenly got a sad look on her face, which made him wince and feel guilty.

"Quirky..." she said timidly as she looked around, her voice befitting a young girl, "Where are we? I don't remember..." He blinked for a moment, then assumed she was addressing him. He was the only other person in the immediate area, anyway. "I don't know..." he answered truthfully, "I don't remember anything at all..."

"W-what? What about me?"

"...You seem familiar, but I..."

"I'm your sister, Leviathan!"

Leviathan looked very distraught, in more ways than one. She bit her lip, trembling uncontrollably. Quirky watched in concern, unsure of what to say. He dug into his memory, but there wasn't much to see. Positive feelings, mostly. "Hey..." he started, placing his hand on her shoulder as some kind of memory surfaced, "I do remember I cared about you..." She then looked up at him and smiled, earning a good-natured grin from him. The semi-sweet moment abruptly ended when a large shadow was cast over the two androids.

"Huh?" Quirky inquired, looking in the direction of the source, which caused his eyes to do the CAST equivalent of widening. Leviathan also looked very, very scared. See, the source of that shadow just so happened to be a Hildegigas, or if it's easier, a red-furred Abominable Snowman that looks like a demon. It was staring at the two like it wanted to eat them, which they figured out very quickly ( though I must question the Hildegigas' choice of food; I don't think eating metal people is healthy, but that's just me).

"Quirky..." Leviathan said as quietly as she could, "We should probably run, right?" Quirky nodded in agreement. "Yes, we probably should..." he replied, ready to grab his sister and run, "Our existences most likely depend on it."

"Yeah..."

"Then let us be off! FOR TRUTH, JUSTICE, AND FOR THE SAKE OF NOT GETTING EATEN!"

With that, the two androids ran away from the creature, screaming their heads off as it pursued them.

...

Um, Quirky...Leviathan...civilization's the _other_ way...

But whatever.

_Somewhere else..._

Everyone in Dairon City, be they Human or CAST, stopped what they were doing and stared at the female Human as she walked down the street. She was wearing all-black attire, chief of which was a cloak that concealed her face. There was a belt around her pants, which boasted a sheathe for a knife, as if daring anyone to approach her. It wasn't her only weapon, either, as there was a Wand tied to her back, but it was hidden by the cloak.

The woman stopped for a moment, as if feeling the stares. She then turned to face everyone, her red eyes glistening. She didn't say a single word, but the crowd immediately turned their attention away from her, and she was on her not-so-merry way again. She walked towards a dark-skinned Human male, who was leaning against a fence post. His eyes were brown while his hair was black, and he was wearing a red and yellow Western-ish coat with a black shirt, and white pants with a white star belt buckle attached to the, well, belt, and bluish black boots with white star designs on each.

"You're right on time!" the man spoke up, grinning. The woman didn't respond, instead choosing to stare at him. "...You don't have to be so serious all the time..." he said glumly, "Relaxing a little never killed anyone..."

She continued to stare.

"Okay okay... Geez. You want to see the mayor now without so much as saying 'Hi', fine."

She continued to stare, exhaling loudly in annoyance.

""Cassandra, you're next to impossible to read sometimes. Actually, most of the time. You know that?"

The knife promptly said 'Hello' to the post.

"Okay okay! No need to get violent. I'll quit 'wasting time'. Let's go."

A ghost of a smile creased upon Cassandra's lips, but was gone as quickly as it came while she got her knife back. As the two walked to the Hunter's Guild, Cassandra suddenly stopped. "What is it?" the man inquired, as Cassandra's eyes fell upon a medium-sized spider on the ground. She bent down and held her hand out to it, prompting it to come, which it did for whatever reason. She examined it carefully as it stood in the palm of her hand, her face showing no emotion. Afterwards, she gently set it down, standing up straight afterwards. A devious grin could vaguely be seen, and she snapped her fingers, which caused the spider to spontaneously burst into flames.

Cassandra then looked at the man, whose face held pure horror. "I...um...okay." he managed, unable to talk properly. "Can we go now, Kai?" Cassandra spoke up, her voice slightly scratchy from lack of use.

"Of...course..." _'...This woman will be the end of me, maybe even the world...'_

After that awkward and rather disturbing scene, the two made it into the Hunter's Guild. "Over to the left is the Quest Counter, which is where...okay, not interested?" Kai said, feeling Cassandra's glare, "I guess not. The Mayor's office is over there, and please, whatever you do, don't mention his hairline." The look on Cassandra's clearly said she didn't give a dang about something like that, and didn't even care to mention it. Deciding nothing more needed to be said, Kai and Cassandra both walked to the Mayor's office.

"Ah, come on in!" the Mayor greeted as the two walked in, "What might your business here be?" Seeing that Cassandra seemed to have no intention of speaking anytime soon, Kai stepped forward. "I'm here to recommend Cassandra as a hunter." he stated plainly.

"Ah, wonderful! Well then, Cassandra, may I ask what you think of the city?"

Cassandra remained perfectly still, until Kai carefully nudged her, the look on his face showing slight worry, lest she go insane. "It is quite a lovely town you have here, Mayor Dairon," she said, annoyance laced in her voice, "If only the people knew to stop staring and carry on with their business. But that's beside the point. As Kai has said, I'm here to become a hunter, if you will have me." Afterwards, she gave Kai a 'That good enough?' look, to which he just shrugged. "Well, I do my best," Dairon said with a smile, "But now, could you tell me a little bit about yourself?"

"I am never late. Everything must be done one-hundred percent, and it must be done the correct way."

"Ah, a hard worker then?"

A simple nod.

"How nice. If only _other_ hunters could be that way."

"...You're not referring to me, are you?" Kai muttered, looking perplexed. "Oh no, of course not!" Dairon said, his eyes showing amusement, "Although, it certainly wouldn't do you any harm to take things a little more seriously."

"...Ouch...?"

Dairon then looked at Cassandra, noticing how still she was. "Oh, you think there's a test, don't you?" he asked slightly cheerily. Cassandra only nodded.

"Ah, a sharp one! Well, this conversation we've been having is the test, and you've passed. Welcome to the Hunter's Guild, Cassandra!"

"...That simple...? It can't be..."

"Don't kid yourself. I like to think of myself as a good judge of character, and you definitely have good character in my eyes."

"See Cassandra?" Kai pressed, "Not everything has to be overly complicated." Cassandra only glared at him, which made him silent. She then noticed another spider, a very poisonous one, on the wall and promptly snapped her fingers, causing it to burst into the flames like the last one, sufficiently horrifying Kai again. Dairon looked a little surprised, then grinned and said, "Why thank you! In your line of work, you must handle all kinds of hostiles, big _and_ small!"

Cassandra grinned toothily, Dairon looked quite pleased, and Kai looked oddly pale.

Note: There we go. :D


End file.
